Method for producing ski-edge

ABSTRACT

A metal ski-edge composed of a plurality of pressed wire links arranged at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ski. A method of producing same.

United States Patent 1151 3,687,469 Wada 1 Aug. 29, 1972 [54] METHOD FOR PRODUCING SKI-EDGE [56] References Cited [72] Inventor: lwao Walla, 3-9, Hayako-cho UNITED STA'IES PATENTS Osaka-Fu, Neyagawa-shi, Japan 3,635,482 1/1972 Holman ..280/11.13 [221 F1led= June 15, 1970 2,069,081 1/1937 Setoguchi ..72/137 2 Appl 4 033 2,245,319 6/1941 Beerli ..280/1 1.13 2,513,164 6/1950 Genua ..7 2/l37 Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner-Lowell A. Larson June 18, 1969 Japan ..44/4s577 Attorney-Lane, Aitken, Dunner & Ziems [52] US. Cl. ..280/11.13 E, 72/365, 72/371, ABSTRACT 280/1 280/1 P A metal ski-edge composed of a plurality of pressed I [51] 11 11. Cl ..A63c 5/04 wire links arranged at an angle with respect to the 1 [58] Field Of Search .....280/1 1.13; 72/137, 199, 365, gitudina] axis of the A method of producing Same.

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INVENTOR- '/WAO WADA A RNEY I METHOD FOR PRODUCING SKI-EDGE Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a metal ski-edge and to a method for producing same.

Many conventional skis are provided with longitudinal metal strips or edges for protecting the edges of the ski body from abrasion and other damage. These metal edges are subjected to severe strains each time the ski is flexed.

The conventional plain or L-shaped ski-edge is made of a unitary, longitudinal metal strip. Damage to these edges can cause the shape, or arch, of the whole ski to change in such a way that the ability of the ski to flex properly is lost. Also these edges tend to separate from the main body of the ski after being subjected to an extended period of use.

'When a metal of high tensile strength is used to form the ski-edge, the whole ski is thereby rigidified and is not able to flex as is intended during use. Moreover, when high tensile strength materials are used, strains are produced at the point of attachment, making the ski-edge even more susceptible to separation from the ski body.

In the past, a variety of solutions have been proposed in connection with the problems outlined above. One such prior art proposal involves the use of a plurality of short edge pieces to provide a ski of increased flexibility. However, this prior art manufacture requires a great deal of manual labor to adfix the short edge pieces to the fringe of the ski body.

Recent developments in the manufacture of metal and fiber glass skis have produced ski bodies of reduced thicknesses. Moreover, methods of adfixing metal edges to these skis have been improved to the point where unitary longitudinal metal edge pieces are widely used on such skis.

However, the physical properties of the ski body itself differ greatly from those of the metal edge materials. Difierences in elasticity and rates of linear expansion result in a relatively short useful ski life. Moreover, when the ski is bent, the strains produced concentrate at the ends of the ski which effect tends to cause the metal edge to separate from the ski body. If the metal edge is deformed beyond its elastic limit, the flexibility and the functionality of the ski itself is reduced.

Summary of the Invention Brief Description of the Drawings I l FIG. 1A is a front elevational view of a section of a FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the ski-edge section of FIG. 2A; FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a single wire wrapped about a mandrel or core in accordance with the manufacturing process of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a wire of a different shape wrapped about a flat forming core in accordance with the manufacturing process of this invention;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a helical wire coil formed without a core;

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of another embodiment of a wire coil formed according to the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the product formed by press-rolling the wire and core assembly of FIG. 3A; I

FIG. 5B is the finished ski-edge formed from the press-rolled shape of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of the product formed by press-rolling the wire coil of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the finished skiedge made from the roll-pressed product of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 7A is a plan view of a longitudinal section of a ski-edge having a plurality of joints of cross-sectional configurations as shown in FIG. 5B and FIG. 6B; I

FIG. 7B is a front elevational view of the ski-edge section of FIG. 7A; I I

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of an L-shaped skiedge formed from the assembly of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of 'an L-shaped skiedge formed from the assembly of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 8C is a perspective view of a longitudinal section of a ski-edge composed of a plurality of joints or links of a cross-sectional configuration as shown in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 9A is a plan view of a longitudinal section of a flat woven wire structure; I

FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of the form of FIG. 9A after it has been subjected to press-rolling;

FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional view of a finished skiedge manufactured from the form of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 10A is a perspective view of a longitudinal section of a plain ski-edge manufactured from the form of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 10B is a perspective view of a longitudinal secv tion of an L-shaped ski-edge manufactured from the form of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 11 is 'a cross-sectional view of a ski-edge prepared from a woven wire cylindrical structure;

FIG. 12A is a perspective view of a twisted wire structure from which yet another embodiment of the present invention may be manufactured;

FIG. 12B is a perspective view of another twisted wire structure;

FIG. 12C is a perspective view of yet another twisted wire structure from which an embodiment of the present invention may be manufactured;

FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view of the structure of FIG. 12A after it has been subjected to press-rolling;

FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view of a finishedplain ski-edge formed from the press-rolled structure of FIG.

FIG. 13C is a cross-sectional view of a finished L- shaped ski-edge formed from the press-rolled structure ofFIG. 13A; and

FIG. 13D is a perspective view of a longitudinal section of a ski-edge of the type of FIG. 13C.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments less steel wire. The wire 1 may have a circular (FIG.

3A), angular, or plain (FIG. 3D) cross-sectional area. In the initial forming step the wire 1 is coiled by winding the wire about a core material 2. The core material 2 may be in the form of a round mandrel,such as is shown in FIG. 3A, or in the form of a belt as shown in FIG. 3B. Alternately, the wire may be coiled, without wrapping about a core form, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. The wire and core assembly shown in FIG. 3A is then press-rolled to form the body illustrated in FIG. 5A and cut in the longitudinal direction to provide a slit 4 at one surface. The slit 4 provides an added degree of flexibility. The edges of the press-rolled form shown in FIG. 5A are then planed to produce the finished skiedge shown in FIG. 58.

FIGS. 6A and 6B represent steps in the manufacture of a ski-edge from the coils of FIG. 4A or FIG. 48. No core material is present in the ski-edge of FIG. 6B.

The finished ski-edge is a rectangular coil with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ski, and therefore, has a degree of flexibility exceeding that of conventional metal ski-edges. The individual links of the finished'ski-edge, shown as elements 3 in FIG. 7 and in FIG. 8C, move somewhat independently of each other and, therefore, are less strained by the flexing of the ski. Therefore, the skiedge of the present invention has less of a tendency to separate from the main body of the ski than do the conventional ski-edges. As shown in FIG. 7A and in FIG. 8C, the individual links 3 are arranged substantially perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis. Conventional adhesives are usually sufficient to permanently adfix the ski-edge of the present invention to the ski body.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9A and 98, a plurality of wires are woven together into a flat structure prior to press-rolling to form the ski-edge. FIG. 9C shows the finished ski-edge. This embodiment also provides a plurality of links or joints, shown as 5a, 5b, 5c,

and 5d in FIG. 10A and FIG. 108.

In yet another embodiment, a plurality of wires are twisted together, as shown in FIGS. 12A, 12B, and

12C. These twisted wire assemblies are then pressrolled to form the shape of FIG. 13A andplaned to form the finished shape of FIG. 13B. Alternatively, the wire assembly may be pressed into the L-shaped form of FIG. 13C. The number of wires which may be twisted together prior to press-rolling is not restricted to two or three wires, but as the number of wires is increased, the pitch of the twist becomes greater and the angle of the links with respect to the longitudinal axis of the coil is reduced. The reduction of the angle of the individual links with respect to the longitudinal axis tends to decrease the flexibility of the ski'edge. The form subjected to press-rolling in the manufacture of the ski-edge may be a coil, a twisted structure, a

oven lait o a circul ,knitt form. Re dl s t e nanire of e form s la ect to press-r0 iiig, it will contain a total length of wire greatly exceeding the length of the ski body and therefore, the strain per unit length produced by bending of the ski is reduced.

Strains produced by the bending of the ski are evenly dispersed and absorbed throughout the links or joints of the metal ski-edge of the present invention.

The advantages of the ski-edge of the present invention can be summarized as follows:

1. The strain produced by the bending of the ski body is dispersed evenly along the ski-edge and is readily absorbed;

2. The flexibility of the ski-edge is greater than that of conventional metal ski-edges;

3. The ski-edge may be permanently adfixed to the ski body with conventional adhesives;

4. Metals of higher hardness may be used without fear of breaking;

5. The ski body itself may be made of materials having higher degrees of elasticity and flexibility without fear that such elasticity and flexibility will result in breaking the metal ski-edges mounted thereto;

6. The durability and useful life of the ski are improved; and

7. The ski-edges may be adapted to a wide variety of ski bodies designed for differing purposes, such as competition, general use, etc.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of the equivalents of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

l. A ski having a metal edge, said metal edge being composed of a plurality of pressed wire joints arranged at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ski.

2. The ski of claim 1 wherein said angle is about 3. A ski-edge composed of a plurality of pressedmetal wire joints, said joints being disposed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ski-edge;

4. The ski-edge of claim 3 wherein said angle is substantially perpendicular.

5. A method of manufacture of ski-edges comprising forming at least one metal wire into a coil structure and press-rolling said coil structure; and forming the finished ski-edge therefrom.

6. A process for the manufacture of ski-edges com- 

1. A ski having a metal edge, said metal edge being composed of a plurality of pressed wire joints arranged at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ski.
 2. The ski of claim 1 wherein said angle is about 90*.
 3. A ski-edge composed of a plurality of pressed-metal wire joints, said joints being disposed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ski-edge.
 4. The ski-edge of claim 3 wherein said angle is substantially perpendicular.
 5. A method of manufacture of ski-edges comprising forming at least one metal wire into a coil structure and press-rolling said coil structure; and forming the finished ski-edge therefrom.
 6. A process for the manufacture of ski-edges comprising forming at least one wire into a woven longitudinal shape and press-rolling said longitudinal shape and forming the finished ski-edge therefrom. 